Watery eyes

Hi cat lovers,

I`m a new cat owner, about 3 months, to be exact. I have a wonderful domestic shorthair with tabby-coated fur named Lucky. He was previously own and found by this wonderful lady. I think I saved his life because he lived in the lady`s convenience store. Anyways, last week I noticed that Lucky`s right eye was watery, so I paid no attention because I thought he was about to sneeze. Then today, I noticed the watery eye again. Is this serious.

Aw, thank you for rescuing this kitty!

It's probably not serious, but it's a good idea to figure what's causing the problem. It could be a sign of an upper respiratory infection (URI), it could simply be a result of herpes virus. Soooooo many kitties have herpes, it's quite common. URIs can be caused either by a virus or can be bacterial. Sometimes vets will give an antibiotic even if it's a viral infection just to help prevent secondary infections - but if it's caused by a virus, it would just need to run its course (just like with people).

Of course, some kitties have problems with their tear ducts.

For all of these reasons, it's a good idea to get her to the vet just to figure out what the source of the problem is, even if it's not serious.

If it is herpes, a supplement called L-lysine has been shown in clinical studies to reduce severity of flare-ups, shorten the length of flare-ups, and can prevent them altogether. Most of us on TCS use the NOW L-lysine powder. It has no taste and isn't toxic at ALL, so it's quite safe to use. The proper dose is 500mg (1/4 teaspoon) split into half in the morning and half at night given daily. For many of our kitties, this stops the herpes flare-ups altogether, and helps prevent URIs. :nod: Just sprinkle it on or mix it into wet food, and she'll eat it right up.

In addition to what Laurie said above, your cat could just have a little pink eye. Aka conjunctivitis. My one-year-old cat, Kramer, had it a few months ago, and the vet just gave me some eye drops. He was fine in a week.